cow's milk

[Guest guest]

Even on a farm with cows treated more "humanely," the female cows are kept artificially pregnant, their udders are grossly oversized (painful) and when the female cows cease to produce milk, they are sent to slaughter. The male children are confined to small crates and fed iron-deficient diets to become veal.

 

I do not believe truly "humane" milk is possible on a commercial basis.

 

Bonnie Knight, San Francisco

 

 

[Guest guest]

hey everyone, quick question.

 

so ive recently give up direct forms of milk and eggs (meaning i still consume

things with milk and eggs in them... for the time being). however, i had a

little run-in with a co-worker last night. she's from a little town in viginia

and they used to recieve their milk from a little farm where that particular

farmer's cows " over-produced " milk. to the point where if she was not milked

enough, her udders were painfully large. now in my research, and to my

knowledge, animals only produce milk for one reason, and one reason only....

to nurse their young. hence why factories continuously impregnate female cows

to only then strip away their offspring to sell to the veal industry. but

that's an entirely different topic. anyhow, so i was under the impression that

this particular case-scenario did not exist. but if it does, then great, i

might even consume milk under those circumstances. but the fact of the matter

i conveyed to her was that the milk we purchase from grocery stores and order

out at restaurants, IS NOT THE MILK FROM THOSE SWEET LITTLE OL' COWS IN

VIRGINIA that have to be milked to alleviate discomfort. so that was my forte,

and of course she could not counter that. however, im still curious if anyone

knows about this circumstance where cows " over-produce " milk and MUST be

milked???? i would research this myself but im in the middle of deciding upon

my thanksgiving meal plan options, very exciting and fun with all of the new

options available! plus i know this community would know far more then any

little internet research that i ensue... thanx! -jess

[Guest guest]

" ... farmer's cows 'over-produced' milk to the point where if she was

not milked enough, her udders were painfully large... "

 

That is such a common response! So many people have said that to me,

that the cows need and want to be milked. But, of course, if they

had their calves to nurse, they wouldn't need to be milked at all.

In general, when left with their calves, cows produce enough milk for

the calf and that's it. When the calf stops nursing, the cow stops

producing milk until the next calf.

 

The reason dairy cows produce so much milk is (as you said) they are

constantly impregnated, and they also are given hormones to increase

milk production. (I wonder if your friend's neighbors were doing

anything to increase milk production.)

 

And, even in those idyllic situations of the sweet cow on the farm,

when that cow stopped producing enough milk, whe was sold off for

slaughter. As were most of her calves, very likely, ahead of her.

 

If solely for the cruelty involved with milk production, you have

made a great choice. But there are so many health reasons to give it

up, too. Read some of the information from PETA, PCRM, or Dr.

McDougall, and you won't want to drink milk at all.

 

Karen

[Guest guest]

I don't know the answer to your question, but I do have a couple of other questions. I have seen a lot of cows ... not as many as previously, but still a fair amount ... wandering around on hills and in pastures. Whose cows are they and what are they doing? I used to live in south Hayward in Fairway Park, and the hills up there always had cows dotting them. Are there humane " family farms " around?

 

 

And since this is a Bay Area list and this is a Bay Area company, does anybody knows anything about Clover Stornetta? The blurb on their website says:

 

Clover Stornetta Farms is a dairy processor specializing in both organic and conventional dairy products from the bucolic fields of the North Coast of California. We pride ourselves on our commitment to sustainable agriculture, no added rBST in any of our products, our Free Farmed certification by the American Humane Association, and our guarantee of knowing where 100% of our milk comes from everyday.

They make it sound good, but is it good?

 

Thanks

[Guest guest]

Hi Jess and everyone,

To this discussion, I would also like to add there's the emotional loss to both the cow and the calf when they are separated -- sometimes they are separated just hours after birth. The cow will call to her missing calf for days. And there's also lots of ecological reasons not to drink cow's milk, too -- all the unedible exretions from the cows gotta go somewhere, and typically its groundwater pollution. I know local communities have protested against mega dairies, and I saw news coverage on TV about residents who unfortunately live a few miles away and still find their houses saturated with flies and the smell.There's also the animal rights perspective about all of this .. As PETA puts it, "Animals are not ours to eat, wear, or experiment on."

Here's two groups who have made footage from their dairy investigations available: Viva!USA and East Bay Animal Advocates

http://vivausa.org/http://www.insidedairyproduction.com/And I want to mention two books that are relevant to this discussion:The Pig Who Sang to the Moon: non-fiction book about the emotional lives/world of animals. For folks who may not be surrounded by farmed animals, this gives great insight into their characters. It's a quick and easy read.Living Among Meat-Eaters by Carol Adams - exactly what it says. I think it's helpful for long-time veg*ns as well as new ones.Both these books were selections read this year as part of BAVeg's Book Club for veg/animal rights discussion. The discussions are continuing, and you'll find more info at:http://www.bayareaveg.org/blog/2006/11/17/read_dominionCheers,Tammy

__

"This is my protest against the conduct of the world. To be a vegetarian is to disagree--to disagree with the course of things today. Starvation, world hunger, cruelty, waste, wars--we must make a statement against these things. Vegetarianism is my statement and I think it's a strong one." -- Isaac Bashevis Singer

[Guest guest]

Yeah, there are a lot of cows along 280 in the Palo Alto area and I'm

not sure what they're doing there. I know of one herd of Belted

Galloways near where I live, who are traditionally a " beef " breed but

in this case are only used to keep the hillsides mown.--Candace

 

, " Sharon Murch " <sharon.nemu

wrote:

>

> I don't know the answer to your question, but I do have a couple of

other

> questions. I have seen a lot of cows ... not as many as

previously, but

> still a fair amount ... wandering around on hills and in pastures.

Whose

> cows are they and what are they doing? I used to live in south

Hayward in

> Fairway Park, and the hills up there always had cows dotting them.

Are

> there humane " family farms " around?

>

> And since this is a Bay Area list and this is a Bay Area company,

does

> anybody knows anything about Clover Stornetta? The blurb on their

website

> says:

>

> *Clover Stornetta Farms is a dairy processor specializing in both

> organicand conventional dairy products from the bucolic fields of

the

> North Coast

> of California. We pride ourselves on our commitment to sustainable

> agriculture, no added rBST in any of our products, our Free

> Farmedcertification by the American Humane Association, and our

> guarantee of

> knowing where 100% of our milk comes from everyday.

> *

> They make it sound good, but is it good?

>

> Thanks

> Sharon

>